The Timecard Management template is a part of the site admin templates provided directly from Microsoft here. This template is based off of a site template (.stp file) which can be installed by a SharePoint administrator by either uploading it into the Site Templates gallery or installing it globally using stsadm. The Timecard Management template was designed for Project Tracking / Product Management business area and the official description is described below:
The Timecard Management application template helps teams track hours spent working on various projects. The site enables team members to ‘punch in’ on a particular project and ‘punch out’ when they cease work. The system automatically generates the time worked by project, and can show managers who is working on a particular project, total hours versus budgeted time and the details of who worked on a each project entered into the site.*
Lists:
Projects – The Projects list is a custom list that contains the projects available for users to track time to. This list also contains a column for estimated hours which can be used by project managers to track against.
Tasks – The Tasks list is an Out-of-the-Box Task list that is used in conjunction with workflows.
Team Status – The Team Status list is a custom list where items are generated from the PunchIn Tracking workflow. It also has the PunchOut Reminder workflow tied to it, which will email the individual who has yet to punch out to assist in data integrity. Items in this list are removed once an individual punches out of the system.
Time Log – The Time Log list is a custom list that stores all time logged in the system. When an item is created in this list, it creates a corresponding item in the Team Status list. This list also contains a few calculated columns of Hours and Week which automatically determines how long an individual task was worked on based off of the Start Time and End Time values.
This list contains various List View pages that assist an employee track their time logs, be it by week, just today, by project or an adjustable calendar view. The other list views assist managers by allowing them to retrieve hourly information on employees and projects. There is also a list view page that shows the current work in progress.
You will normally create/edit items from this list from the Punch In / Punch Out button from the home page, but also have the ability to create/edit items manually when you did not have access to the site while doing your work or need to modify the amount of time logged.
It should be noted that the Time Log list has Item-level permissions enabled so that unless you have the Manage Lists permission (by default added to the Contribute permission level).
Workflows:
There are two SharePoint Designer workflows provided by this template. The PunchIn Tracking workflow is attached to the Time Log list, and the PunchOut Reminder workflow is attached to the Team Status list when you create a site based off of this template.
PunchIn Tracking
The PunchIn Tracking workflow is a conditional workflow that performs two separate sets of actions. The first action set happens when a user is “Punching In” to the system. This action sets the Start Time column to the time that the Time Log item was created. It also creates another item in the Team Status list where other users can see what you are working on, and also kicks off the PunchOut Reminder workflow to ensure data integrity.
The second action set is performed when a user is “Punching Out” of the system. This action sets the End Time column to the time that the Time Log item was modified. It also deletes the corresponding item in the Team Status list so the user doesn’t receive an incorrect reminder.
PunchOut Reminder
The PunchOut Reminder workflow is set to automatically start when an item is created in the Team Status list. It waits for 8 hours and then if the item still exists it will email a reminder to the Creator of the item that it has been over 8 hours since their punch in time. This type of reminder will help keep the Timecard Management system clean.
Custom Pages:
Home Page
The home page for the site contains a DataView webpart that enables a user to punch in to start tracking their time in the system. Once a user is punched into the system, the DataView webpart changes to provide a mechanism for the user to punch out of their current task, as well as providing an update on the elapsed time since their punch in.
This page also contains a Team Status DataView webpart that provides the end user a quick glance of other users currently using the system and when they last punched in. It would also be noted that the home page for this site will automatically refresh every five minutes.
The quick launch, or current navigation, has been customized to provide employees and managers direct access to various list views of time tracking information.
Time Log System Views
The Time Log list contains customized versions of your Display Form, Edit Form and New Form.
On the Display Form, they hide the Out-of-the-Box form and created a customized Display Form that only shows specific columns and hides some of the columns that end users don’t need to see, but other webparts will consume (i.e. Hours, Weeks, and Events).
The Edit Form was customized in a similar way that the Display Form was, with the exception that they also put in a Content Editor webpart to remind users to only use this form to make corrections to time already logged. More or less this is a good reminder that they want you to use the Punch In / Punch Out methods they already have in place so that they can automate the process for you.
Lastly the New Form page is customized the same way the Edit Form is. It also contains a Content Editor webpart that reminds you to use the “My Work” webpart on the home page to start logging your time, but only use this form to record your time when you didn’t Punch In / Punch Out.
Custom Files:
dateutil.js
There is a custom JavaScript file in the root of a site based on this template called dateutil.js. This JavaScript file is consumed by some of the custom list view pages and contains a few functions that get elapsed time and show elapsed hours (with and without minutes). This JavaScript file is mainly used on the main page to show how much time you have currently put towards a task before actually punching out.
Installation recommendations:
If you are looking to create a site based off of the Timecard Management site template you will first want to determine who should be considered an Employee and who is a Manager. If you are running MOSS and have the availability to use audiences I would suggest putting audience targeting on the Employees and Managers headers on the Quick Launch.
If you are alright with an 8 hour reminder email from the PunchOut Reminder workflow you won’t need to adjust anything, but you may want to look at the email and time for the reminder to suit your companies needs.
Permissions
Setting permissions on the Time Log list may be a good idea, so that employee’s can add items and manage their own, but you may want to create a permission level so that managers can read/modify other employee objects if need be. You may also want to set specific permissions on Projects list so that only managers can add new projects, but all employees can read all existing projects.
*Description reference URL here
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